Boon for Housing? States With the Lowest Unemployment

Boon for Housing? States With the Lowest Unemployment

Daily Real Estate News |
Wednesday, January 29, 2014

For the housing market to fully recover, the job market must fully recover first, some housing analysts say. A new report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that jobless rates fell in more than three-quarters of states last month.

Jobless rates dropped in 39 states and the District of Columbia in December, the bureau reports. What’s more, in 17 states, unemployment rates are significantly below the national rate of 6.7 percent.

An energy boom has helped North Dakota boast the lowest jobless rate in the country, at 2.6 percent.

The 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates in December were:

North Dakota: 2.6%

South Dakota: 3.6%

Nebraska: 3.6%

Utah: 4.1%

Vermont: 4.2%

Iowa: 4.2%

Wyoming: 4.4%

Hawaii: 4.5%

Minnesota: 4.6%

Kansas: 4.9%

The states that posted the largest monthly gains in jobs in December — as well as largest yearly gains for all of 2013 — were Texas, Florida, and California.

On the other hand, the state’s with the highest unemployment rates in December were Rhode Island at 9.1 percent, followed by Nevada (8.8%), and Illinois (8.6%).